A portable electronic device such as a tablet computer, a smart phone may use a rechargeable battery as a power supply means to provide mobility. Accordingly, a user of the portable electronic device may use the electronic device more conveniently beyond a wired environment for power supply of the electronic device.
The portable electronic device may charge the battery through external power supplied by wire or wirelessly.
A portable electronic device may control charging of a battery based on heat generated by the battery charging through an application processor (AP). For example, if charging the battery in the electronic device of an active state, the AP may control a constant charging current of the battery to limit the heat generated by the battery charging. For example, if charging the battery in the electronic device of an inactive state, the AP may control the charging current of the battery by identifying a temperature of a temperature sensor at each activation period (e.g., 30 seconds). That is, the AP may control the battery charging current so that the temperature of the temperature sensor identified at each activation period does not exceed a reference temperature. For example, the electronic device of the active state may include an electronic device of which a display is activated or which provides a communication service. The electronic device of the inactive state may include an electronic device of which the display is inactive or turned off.
However, as the portable electronic device controls the battery charging using the AP, a battery charging efficiency corresponding to a temperature change of the electronic device may be degraded. For example, in the battery charging for the active electronic device, the AP limits the battery charging current to be constant so as to limit the heat and accordingly a charging rate may decrease. In addition, in the battery charging for the inactive electronic device, the AP limits the battery charging current such that the temperature of the temperature sensor does not exceed the reference temperature during the activation period and accordingly the charging rate may decrease.
Various embodiments of the present invention may provide an apparatus and a method for controlling the battery charging based on the temperature change of the electronic device in the electronic device.
According to various embodiments of the present invention, an electronic device may include a plurality of temperature sensors disposed at different positions, a battery, a memory, at least one processor, and a charging module for controlling charging of the battery, wherein the charging module may be configured to identify a charging type of the battery, to select at least one temperature sensor among the plurality of the temperature sensors based on the charging type of the battery, and to control a charging current of the battery based on a temperature measured through the at least one temperature sensor.
According to various embodiments of the present invention, an operating method of an electronic device may include identifying a battery charging type of the electronic device, selecting at least one temperature sensor among a plurality of temperature sensors disposed at positions in the electronic device based on the battery charging type, and controlling a charging current of the battery based on a temperature measured through the at least one temperature sensor.
An electronic device and its operating method according to various embodiments may, by controlling battery charging so as to respond to temperature change of the electronic device in a charging module, reduce load of an application processor and improve a battery charging efficiency by adaptively controlling a battery charging current in response to the temperature change.